Succession: revolving door.YOU MIGHT THINK that with a diminishing number of Enron-like scandals, the turnover in the corner office would be easing, or at least becoming more predictable. But late in 2003, there were a surprising string of comings and goings, including the departure of two of the most prominent women executives. Although ethical issues played a role, the bigger consideration seemed to be performance--or lack thereof. Here's a scorecard: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AT & T Betsy Bernard resigns as president amid revenue decline, replaced by former colleague Bill Hannigan. The scoop: It was mission impossible for Betsy. No one could stop the decline of AT & T--and she quickly became the sacrificial lamb A sacrificial lamb is a lamb (or metaphorical parallel) killed or discounted in some way (as in a sacrifice) in order to further some other cause. In typical modern usage, it is a metaphorical reference for a person who has no chance of surviving the challenge ahead, but is placed . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BOEING Phil Condit is forced out and Harry Stonecipher Harry C. Stonecipher (born May 16, 1936 in Robbins, Tennessee) is the former President and Chief Executive of American aerospace giant Boeing. He submitted his resignation upon request of the Boeing Board of Directors on March 6, 2005, due to an improper relationship with a Boeing , former CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the acquired McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It merged with Boeing in 1997 to form The Boeing Company. , parachutes from the board back into the CEO role. The scoop: Condit was a disaster. The board should have acted much sooner. But directors made a mistake in going with Harry. He's part of the problem, not the solution. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DELTA AIRLINES Chairman and CEO Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Mullin "retires" amid a flap over his compensation and is replaced by two board members. Former General Motors CEO Jack Smith becomes chairman, and Gerald Grinstein Gerald Grinstein is the former CEO of Delta Air Lines, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, the world's second largest airline. Grinstein came to the position in 2004, after CEO Leo F. becomes CEO. The scoop: Leo had to split after losing the confidence of his own people. But the solution implies continuity when radical change may be the only way to save Delta. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KRAFT FOODS Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in North America and the second largest in the world after Nestlé SA. The Philip Morris Company (now known as Altria Group), a company that produces tobacco products, acquired Kraft for Co-CEO Betsy Holden steps aside amid price pressures and the lack of new products and is replaced by another co-CEO, Roger K. Deromedi. The scoop: Okay, Betsy was a brand-extender, not a new product person. But the co-CEO arrangement was clearly unworkable. And Altria, which owns 84 percent, wants big changes so that it can spin Kraft off. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MOTOROLA The board passes by Mike Z., the designated internal succession candidate to Chris Galvin, and taps Ed Zander zan·der n. pl. zander or zan·ders A common European pikeperch (Stizostedion lucioperca) valued as a food fish. [German, from Low German Sander , former president and COO of Sun Microsystems. The scoop: The board wanted more abrupt change than promoting an insider would signify. But they waited way too long. Motorola might not be fixable. And Ed is bound to have big problems with the Midwest engineering culture in Schaumburg. |
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